


Momentos

by cat_77



Series: Flufftober 2018 [24]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-06 21:57:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16395833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cat_77/pseuds/cat_77
Summary: Everywhere they go, he takes a little piece with him.





	Momentos

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt of “sand.”
> 
> * * *

When he first noticed it, which sadly was far after the first time, he assumed it was some little-known Shadowhunter custom. Their ways were not his own despite having lived side by side for so long. Eventually though, his curiosity was piqued and he started to pay a little bit more attention.

At a beach far from prying eyes, the sand shone pink with the quartz it held beneath their toes. He turned to set up some chairs, maybe an umbrella for shade, and definitely a table with ice cold drinks. It took no more than a snap of his fingers really and, when he turned back around, he watched as Alexander scooped some of the pink up in a little bottle he carried. Just a few grains into what might well be a sample container from one of the Institute’s labs.

He wrote that off as possibly wanting to know just what gave the sand it’s unique color. At least he did until the bottle came out again later. This time it was the volcanic not-quite ash that littered a nearly pitch black coastline. Into the bottle it went with the same care, only a few grains as if not wanting to take too much away from the natural beauty of it all.

In Rome, it was the crumbling walls of an ancient ruin, the rock not much more than dust at the base of the great structure. In Greece, he carefully selected only the smallest of stones that were nearly torn back into the water at Limanakia. In Sweden, it was rich black earth that held the promise of growth. Everywhere they went, everywhere he took them, a few of the smallest tidbits traveled back to New York. He pulled the bottle out once when Alexander bathed and could barely see the stolen treasure at the very bottom, which just made him question it all the more.

So he made a point of following him once. All the way back to the Institute, back to his private office. It was not unusual for him to do so and was in no way because he had already checked the loft and found precisely no signs of where he might be storing his prizes. It was, however, slightly out of the norm for him to say his goodbyes and then peek right back into that office for his “forgotten” phone only moments later.

It was there that he found his answers. He watched as an hourglass, small enough to be fully engulfed by one of the Nephilim’s large hands, was taken out of a desk drawer. One of the ends was slowly unscrewed and the contents of the bottle were poured within. Alexander watched them, the tiny bits of history, as they flowed down the funnel and slowly joined the rest, speckled black and brown mingled with pinks and grays and tans of uneven sizes.

“Am I allowed to ask?” he questioned once the base was firmly screwed back into place. He wasn’t going to deny that he was there, nor was he going to lie about his fascination with it all.

If his lover was surprised to see him, he didn’t show it. Instead, he spun the hourglass around and let the journey begin again, this time to fill the now empty bulb. “It’s us,” he said with a shrug. “Everyplace that we have been. It’s a way to remember it all, I guess.” The “when it’s over” was unspoken.

There was so much said in so few words, and he knew he needed to show the moment the respect it deserved. So Magnus leaned down and kissed him before he said, “Thank you for sharing this with me.”

Alexander scoffed and gestured to where the almost-sands swirled to a stop just below the tapered funnel. “You have literally shared all of this with me,” he said with a smile.

Magnus took that as his due. They said their goodbyes, for real this time, as both truly were incredibly busy. When Alexander came back to the loft that night, he found a package waiting for him. Magnus motioned for him to open it and, when he did, he found another hourglass, this one made of the clearest glass and fine wood inscribed with runes for memories and longevity. It was nearly the height to match the length from his wrist to his forearm, and even his large hands would just be able to close around the ends. 

“What’s this?” he asked, finally his time to be curious.

Magnus tugged him closer, hand in hand as they both gazed down at the gift before he explained, “I plan on making far more memories with you than that little bobble of yours can hold.”

Throughout the years the hourglass might have changed and grown, but that was just as well as so did the memories that it held. At night, after a particularly stressful day, or even bright and early on a peaceful morning, either one of them could be found to flip the past and watch it as they contemplated both the present and just what the future might hold.


End file.
